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HotHardware surveys the Cougar Point motherboard horizon, spots a winner
There's an ocean of possibilities when it comes to choosing the right Socket LGA 1155 board to mother your Sandy Bridge processor. But a roundup review at HotHardware funnels it down to just five rivals within a $179-$267 price bracket and based on Intel's P67 chipset: two offerings from Asus, plus one each from ASRock, Gigabyte and MSI. The reviewers found clear favorites depending on what you're looking for: The ASRock Fatal1ty P67 Professional and MSI P67A-GD80 can both bring serious aesthetics to your super rig, and the former has a particularly good bang-for-buck ratio. The Asus P8P67 WS Revolution stands out with four full-length PCI Express lanes for crazy graphics, while the more conservative Asus P8P67 Professional has the lowest idle power consumption of the lot. Click the source link now if you'd prefer to discover the overall winner for yourself. Otherwise, all we can say is, viva la Revolution.
MSI WindPad 110w listed for $599 pre-order, is brown
Looks like ASUS isn't the only popular netbook maker finally releasing more of its tablets into the wild. We've had various encounters with MSI's 10-inch WindPad 110w this year, but pricing and availability details on the Windows 7 tablet -- and its Android slate-mates -- had remained secret. That's now slightly changed courtesy of J&R's website, where a pre-order listing for the 110w has surfaced displaying a $600 street price and a full specification rundown. Highlights from under the hood include a dual-core AMD Brazo (as expected), a 32GB SSD, and 4GB of DDR3 RAM along with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity; around the outside are two cameras, a plethora of ports including mini HDMI, USB 2.0 and an SD card slot. Not too shabby, although it appears you'll have to settle for brown (and loss of all dignity at checkout).
MSI's SteelSeries keyboard-equipped GT780R, GX780 gaming laptops now available
MSI managed to turn a few heads back in April by building a gaming laptop around SteelSeries keyboard with its GX780, and it's now announced that both it and the higher-end GT780R model are available with a list price of $1,550 and $1,750, respectively. In addition to that multicolor backlit keyboard, both models pack a 17.3-inch 1920 x 1080 display, a Core i7 2630QM processor, a pair of USB 3.0 ports (plus three USB 2.0), 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB hard drive. So what's the difference between the two? The big one is GeForce GTX 560M graphics with 1.5GB of GDDR5 RAM on the GT780R, compared to a GT555M with 1GB DDR5 of VRAM on the GX780. Head on past the break for the complete press release, and hit up either Amazon or Newegg if you're ready to place an order (both seem to have knocked $100 of MSI's price). Oh, and if you're interesting in seeing what this GPU can muster, tap that More Coverage link for a review of an all-too-similar sibling.
MSI's Afterburner Android app makes GPU overclocking as easy as Facebooking
Back in our day, overclocking one's PC was akin to a fine art. It took skill. Precision. Effort. Cajones. These days, it's just about as simple as blinking. Or winking. Or winking while blinking. MSI's made the simplification of PC overclocking quite the priority over the past few years, with OC Genie and an updated Wind BIOS from last decade putting all sorts of power into the hands of mere mortals. At Computex this week, the outfit took things one step further with the Afterburner Android app. Purportedly, the GPU tool enables users to monitor the temperature, voltage and fan speed of their graphics card via a WiFi connection, and if you're feeling froggy, you can overclock and overvolt to your heart's content. Details beyond that are few and far betwixt, but we're hearing that it'll soon work with GPUs from other vendors, and that an iOS variant is en route.
AMD confirms tablet-friendly Z-series APU, next-gen Trinity APU for bigger devices
AMD likes to take its time before stepping inside the ring, but it's turned up at Computex with its gown off and mouthguard in. Its much-leaked Z-series Fusion APU (aka "Desna") for tablet devices is now official and could well steal some of ARM's thunder. Whereas ARM chips will get along with the next version of Windows, AMD's Z-series is already tuned into the here-and-now. Its integrated dual 1Ghz Bobcat chips and Radeon HD 6250 graphics should allow the full Windows 7 experience on a tablet, from USB peripheral compatibility right down to XBOX 360 Media Extender functionality. What's more, it drinks less than 6W of power so is significantly leaner than the 9W Ontario APU powering Acer's Iconia W500 Windows 7 tablet. Additionally, AMD claims MSI has already made that leap with its new WindPad 110w (though we can't be sure if the pre-release device we just handled was carrying a Z-series chip). Meanwhile, AMD left any traces of shyness far behind as it went on to confirm plans for a range of A-series and E-series chips with which it hopes to tackle Intel's dominance in the laptop and desktop spheres -- right up to the level of the Core i7. This includes the leaked high-end quad-core A8 and, more surprisingly, a new Trinity APU. Looking way into the future, AMD intends Trinity to be a successor to the mid-range A-series Llano, which isn't even out yet but is expected imminently. Unfortunately we have no concrete specs for the Trinity -- AMD thought it was sufficient to wave the thing around at the press conference and declare it "2012's best APU". Depending on how you look at it, that's either fighting talk or plain posturing.
MSI X370 to be upgraded to AMD E-450 Fusion APU, we go hands-on
AMD is presently detailing a rather extensive overhaul of its Fusion APU line here at Computex, including the promise of Llano-based computers becoming available in the next few weeks. One of the devices that's set to get the upgrade treatment is MSI's skinny X370 laptop, a 13-incher with 1366 x 768 resolution and the current-gen 1.6GHz E-350 Zacate processor inside. The intel about its future upgrade to a 1.65GHz E-450 chip came from Notebook Italia and was confirmed for us by folks at both AMD and MSI's booths here at the show. We don't yet have the full details on what the next E-450 processor will be like exactly, but we gathered together a gallery of pictures of the X370, which recently started shipping for $579. We were told to expect the refreshed model in either the third or fourth quarter of this year. If your interest has been piqued, jump past the break for some hands-on impressions. %Gallery-124947%
MSI WindPad 100A, 110W, and 120W hands-on (video)
What's this? It looks like the MSI WindPad 100A that we discovered at CES and the WindPad 110W that we first saw at CeBit decided to make an appearance on the show floor here at Computex 2011. Only this time around they brought a new friend along to the party -- namely the MSI WindPad 120W. To refresh your memory, the WindPad 100A is a 10-inch NVIDIA Tegra 2-equipped tablet running Android (Gingerbread here in Taipei, but potentially Honeycomb in the future) while the 110W uses AMD's Brazos platform paired with Windows 7. The Windpad 120W shares the same exact 10-inch chassis as the 110W but swaps AMD's Fusion APU for an Intel Cedar Trail-based chipset together with a tasty serving of WiDi and HSPA wireless. We still have no information about availability or pricing, but for now we invite you to check out the gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on videos. %Gallery-124832%
MSI brings sub-$300 Enjoy 7 and Enjoy 10 Gingerbread WindPads to Computex, we go hands-on
MSI has snuck a couple of new tablets into Computex, which we've naturally dug up, dusted off, and covered in fingerprints. The WindPad Enjoy 10 is a 10-inch Android Gingerbread slate with relatively humble specs -- 1024 x 768 resolution, 4GB of storage, 512MB of RAM, and a 27.3WHr battery -- but also a very modest asking price of $299. It comes with a 1.2GHz ARM Cortex A8 (single core) processor that's said to be able to play back 1080p video, and at least one of the dual 2 megapixel cameras should be able to record in 720p as well. Its smaller sibling, the Enjoy 7, spans 800 x 480 pixels across a 7-inch expanse and has a smaller 17.3WHr battery, but is otherwise identical. We're promised an even lower price point for this smaller tablet, with both Enjoy models expected to begin mass production in July and hit the States in earnest either that month or soon thereafter. Releases in Europe and other nations are also planned shortly after the US gets a first bite of these intriguing Gingerbread concoctions. MSI specifically pointed out to us that it preferred Android 2.3 over 3.0 for its broader compatibility and better stability. Alas, neither slate is licensed to access the Android Market, but the pre-production units we looked at had an APK installer on board and MSI promised to figure out a workaround to let you obtain apps. It wasn't terribly clear how that'd be done, but at least the company has it in mind. As to build quality, the 795g Enjoy 10 felt great in the hand, its curvy and thin body proving easy to handle. We can't really comment on the actual construction as what we were shown were early pre-production mockups designed to just give us a taste rather than the full enchilada. Weighing in at 395g, the Enjoy 7 features a similar penchant for curviness and, on a less happy note, glossiness. Both are smear magnets with a high sheen finish on the front. The metal backs are more demure, though. Check out the Enjoy 10 on video after the break. %Gallery-124828%
NVIDIA refreshes notebook graphics with GeForce GTX 560M, attracts ASUS, MSI, Toshiba and Alienware
If you've enjoyed NVIDIA's fine tradition of merely bumping along its GPUs time and again and affixing a new badge, you'll like the GeForce GTX 560M -- it's much like last year's GTX 460M, but with more bang for the buck than ever. ASUS, MSI, Alienware, Toshiba and Clevo have all committed to new notebooks bearing the graphics processor in light of the potent performance NVIDIA claims it will bring: Namely, those same 192 CUDA cores (now clocked at 1550MHz) and up to 3GB of GDDR5 memory (now clocked at 1250MHz, with a 192-bit bus) should enable the latest games to run at playable framerates on a 1080p screen with maximum detail -- save antialiasing. Of course, that assumes you've also got a recent quad-core Sandy Bridge processor and gobs upon gobs of RAM, but NVIDIA also says that with the built-in Optimus switchable graphics, those same potent laptops should be able to manage five hours of battery life while idling. If you're looking for some inexpensive discrete graphics, however, NVIDIA's also got a refresh there, as the new GeForce GT 520MX bumps up all the clock speeds of the GT 520M. When can you expect a mobile GPU to knock the GTX 485M off its silicon throne, though? Glad you asked: a chart shows a "Next-gen GTX" coming late this year. Meanwhile, see what NVIDIA says the GTX 560M's capable of in the gallery below and a video after the break. %Gallery-124725%
MSI CR650 review
It was a long time coming, but when it finally arrived, AMD's highly anticipated Fusion APU ripped through the laptop market like a bull on steroids. Just this month, the chipmaker announced that the platform made up nearly half its notebook shipments, and no doubt contributed heavily to its $1.61 billion in Q1 revenues. In the past four months, we've seen its superior integrated graphics working on a slew of smaller machines, but it seems Fusion wanted more. Back in January, Toshiba announced that it would bring the E-240 APU to a 15.6-inch budget notebook, and just a few weeks later MSI followed suit with its own announcement, saying it planned to put a Zacate E-350 APU, incorporating Radeon HD 6310 graphics, in its CR650. We've spent some time with Lenovo's ThinkPad X120e and HP's Pavilion dm1z, both sporting 11.6-inch screens and E-350 APUs, but we've yet to experience the force of Fusion on a larger device. Naturally, when the opportunity presented itself, we jumped on the chance to find out how a big rig like the CR650 would stack up against its dainty predecessors. Will Fusion's wonder chip offer the same performance in a $500, 15.6-inch laptop? Or will it fail to bring its beastly force to a big budget machine? Hop on past the break to find out. %Gallery-122608%
MSI trots out 20-inch Wind Top AE2070 with USB 3.0, Wind Touch 4 UI
MSI sure is keeping itself busy with all-in-ones these days. The inexpensive Wind Top AE2050 arrived stateside a month ago, and now the company is back with the Wind Top AE2070, a more tricked-out 20-incher. This iteration also has a 1600 x 900 display, but steps up to USB 3.0 and can be upgraded to a 3.1GHz Core i3 processor and NVIDIA GeForce GT540M graphics. Other specs include a 500GB 7,200RPM hard drive, two three-watt speakers, a DVD burner, and a 6-in-1 memory card reader. Software-wise, it runs Windows 7 along with the latest version of MSI's Wind Touch UI, which includes Facebook and Twitter buttons in the browser, a dedicated window for viewing photos and video, sticky notes, and weather and time widgets for the desktop. No word yet on pricing or availability, though we assume it'll be more wallet-friendly than this.
NVIDIA brings SLI support to AMD 990FX, 990X and 970 chipsets
It's not going so far as to expand support as far as AMD has with its CrossFireX multi-GPU technology, but NVIDIA has now at least taken one step in that direction. The company announced today that it's finally bringing SLI support to AMD platforms -- specifically, upcoming motherboards based on AMD's 990FX, 990X and 970 chipsets. Those will be offered by ASUS, Gigabyte, ASRock, and MSI initially, with additional manufacturers said to be coming on board "shortly." Hit up the source link below for NVIDIA's complete statement on the matter -- in which it also just so happens to point out that 93 percent of all multi-GPU systems in use today use SLI, according to Steam statistics. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
MSI gets a SteelSeries keyboard, builds the GX780 gaming notebook around it
The worst part about buying a fancy new gaming keyboard? It's hard to show the thing off if it never leaves your basement apartment. MSI's newly announced GX780 notebook combines a colorful backlit 102-key SteelSeries-designed keyboard with the (relative) portability of an 8.6 pound gaming laptop. The keyboard features 1,000 different color combinations, five lighting modes, 10 key simultaneous input, and a layout the company calls "The Golden Triangle" -- trademark pending, we're sure. The 17.3 inch notebook has some solid non-keyboard specs as well, including GeForce GT555M graphics, a second gen Intel Core i7 processor, and an impressive maximum 16GB of DDR3. No word on pricing or availability, but hopefully the MSRP isn't as colorful as that keyboard. Full press release after the break.
MSI rolls out Core i3-based CX640, CR640 laptops
MSI's already had a fairly productive month when it comes to new laptops, but it's not done quite yet -- the company has now also rolled out its new 15.6-inch CX640 and CR640 models, which each boast what MSI calls a "clutter free design," as well as some budget-friendly prices. As for specs, both pack an Intel Core i3-2310M processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive (not to mention two USB 3.0 ports), while the silver CX640 upgrades things from the basic integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics on the black CR640 model to NVIDIA's GeForce GT 520M with Optimus technology. Sound like the mid-range laptop you've been waiting for? Then you can grab your choice of the CR640 or CX640 today for $630 or $680, respectively -- full press release is after the break.
MSI's Fusion-powered X370 laptop gets $579 price tag, hits Amazon and Newegg
Our story about MSI's X370 ultraportable getting a dose of AMD Fusion ended on a cliffhanger -- the company stopped short of revealing just how much the thing would cost. Well, now we have our answer: this 13.4-incher comes with a $599 price tag and is up for grabs on Newegg. (Amazon already cut the price to $579, but isn't shipping it just yet.) For the money, that sub-$600 sticker includes AMD's new Zacate E-350 APU, 4GB of RAM, integrated Radeon HD 6310 graphics, a 500GB hard drive, a 4-in-1 memory card reader, HDMI and VGA output, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, and an 8-cell battery that MSI claims can last up to ten hours. While it earlier seemed that consumers would get their pick of hard drives and batteries, it's available in just one configuration for now -- not that you would have been tempted to downgrade to a 4-cell, anyway.
MSI spits out four more Sandy Bridge laptops, including tasteful-looking F Series gaming rigs
If it seems like MSI is dropping a lot of laptops this week, you're not imagining things. The company just announced the FX620DX and FX420 gaming rigs and two mainstream notebooks, the FR720 and FX720, some of which join the 16 laptops it unveiled at CES. The FR720 and FX720 are both beastly 17-inch desktop replacements, with prices ranging from $710 to $900 depending on whether you opt for an Intel Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 CPU, and whether you stick with integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics or spring for one with a discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT520M card. As for the gaming machines, we have to say they're pretty conservative-looking, with black lids made from a non-peeling, scratch- and smudge-resistant material, and a handful of chrome accents and blue LEDs thrown in for good measure. The 15.6-inch FX620DX packs either a quad-core Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M with 1GB of video memory, and a 720p webcam. The 14-inch FX420, meanwhile, comes with that same quad-core Core i5 CPU and AMD Radeon HD 6470M graphics, also with 1GB of memory. The FX620DX also comes with either a 1920 x 1080 or 1366 x 768 display, while the more diminutive FX420 just offers the latter. Other than that, though, these machines share the same DNA, including an six shortcut buttons, HDMI and VGA port, 4 USB ports (two of 'em USB 3.0), six-cell batteries, and hard drives ranging from 500GB to 750GB with speeds of either 5,400 RPM or 7,200 RPM. MSI hasn't announced pricing or availability for the F Series, but hit the source link to peep these laptops' very discreet designs.
MSI slips AMD's Fusion into 13-inch X370 ultraportable, hopes you'll notice
Tired of Intel's Core i5 taking a beating on your X-Slim X360's battery life? Join the crowd. For those less concerned with playing Crysis 2 and more concerned with a solid overall machine, MSI's new X370 looks to strike a lovely balance. The 13.4-inch ultraportable gets a 1366 x 768 resolution display, AMD's hot-off-of-the-presses Zacate E-350 APU, Radeon HD 6310 graphics, HDMI / VGA outputs, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, an internal card reader, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, gigabit Ethernet, a 1.3 megapixel camera and (nearly) as much DDR3 memory as you can stuff into it. You'll also get a 320/500/640GB hard drive, a 4- or 8-cell battery and a chassis that weighs 3.08 pounds with the smaller of the two cells. Naturally, Windows 7 (64-bit) is the OS of choice, but the company's stopping short of providing a hard price or release date -- here's hoping it falls somewhere between "cheap" and "price mistake."
MSI ships Fusion-based CR650 laptop, Wind Top AE2050 all-in-one PC
AMD's Zacate E-350 APU (better known to casual observers as a member of the Fusion platform) has been shocking critics since its long-awaiting introduction earlier in the year, finally giving people a real alternative to Intel's historically sluggish Atom lineup. In the event that you've been waiting for Fusion-based options from MSI, a couple of previously introduced machines are now making their way out to the shipping docks. First up, it's the 15.6-inch CR650, complete with a dual-core E-350 APU (which includes a Radeon HD 6310 discrete-class graphics chip), an HDMI port, 720p webcam and a downright luscious $499.99 starting price. For those looking for something a wee bit less portable, or for those looking to significantly increase their load, the Fusion-backed Wind Top AE2050 ($679.99) is also shipping to Earthlings in North America. Hit the links below to learn more on each.
MSI's GX680 laptop gets GeForce GT 555M graphics, up to 16GB of DDR3
Mobile gaming rigs don't tend to be particularly upgradeable, so it's important to get all the horsepower you can up front. With that in mind, MSI's latest is delivering a little more oomph than its last lap-warmer. It's the GX680 and it's rocking an Intel Core i7 2630QM processor paired with GeForce GT 555M graphics, NVIDIA's latest bid at laptop pixel-pushing supremacy. That card has 1GB of GDDR5 memory onboard, while the system itself can be configured with up to 16GB of DDR3 -- rather a lot for a laptop. A 15.6-inch, 1080p display is available, along with dual 750GB HDDs, which can be configured in RAID 0 if you like living dangerously. Blu-ray is also on offer, along with a THX certified Dynaudio sound system that is said to deliver audio "heretofore found only in cinemas." No price yet, but as always with MSI that kind of hyperbole comes for free.
MSI's Radeon HD 6990-based graphics card looks the part (video)
If you've got a desktop case with a view, we can't think of a better thing to put on prominent display than a giant, red-trimmed graphics card -- and that's exactly what MSI's new Radeon HD 6990-based unit provides. The dual-GPU card is lined up to be AMD's 2011 flagship, and MSI proudly proclaims that it's "the most powerful" unit around on the accompanying placard. Interestingly, this is just about the only card MSI's got at its booth that isn't available to handle outside of a case -- we're guessing these prototypes are still pretty rare, and really, they look prettier when they're running at full clip on a motherboard with a ridiculous cooling unit anyhow. Follow the break for a quick video panorama. %Gallery-117848%
